The Naming of Cats
by Pir8grl
Summary: Sara chooses a name for her cat. So does everyone else.
1. Chapter 1

"His name is Maharib," Sara insisted.

"And since I don't speak whatever language that is, I'll just go right on calling him Cat," Snart replied, taking another card.

As usual, the beast in question had situated himself between her and Snart. The grey cat slitted his one eye to glare menacingly at the former crook, then hoisted a rear leg and began to groom himself.

"Definitely a he," Sara muttered.

"Did you have Gideon check him out?"

"No. I can tell from his manners," Sara replied sweetly.

***

"Snart! Hey, Snart - you in there?" Mick Rory yelled from the corridor outside Sara's quarters.

"Come in, already…just keep it down, will you?"

"Snart!" Sara hissed warningly, but it was too late.

He glanced an apology as Mick strode into the room.

"Was I innarupting something?" he demanded lasciviously.

"None of your business," Sara informed him.

"Hey - you guys got a cat!" Mick said, eyes alight as he approached the bunk.

"Careful -" Snart warned as the big man reached out a beefy hand.

"I love cats!"

To Snart and Sara's mutual surprise, Maharib sniffed Mick's hand, then rubbed his head against the outstretched fingers.

"Cool! He likes me! What's his name?"

Sara told him.

"Huh?"

"I just call him Cat," Snart supplied. "And you might want to be a little careful," he added, gesturing to a couple of nasty scratches on the back of his hand.

Maharib jumped lightly into Mick's arms, much to his delight.

"Hey…is this why Haircut's suddenly allergic to the two of you?" Mick demanded gleefully.

***

"There ya go, Buddy. I knew you'd like that!" Kendra heard Mick say…almost croon, actually.

She entered the galley and blinked in disbelief. Mick Rory was seated at the counter, fist wrapped around an enormous, dripping cheeseburger. Perched on the countertop was a raggedy grey cat, enjoying its own bowl of mashed-up burger.

"Where did he come from?" she asked curiously.

"Sara found him. Or maybe he found Sara. He's really smart. Tough, too."

"I can see that," Kendra replied, as the cat looked up from his meal. "What's his name?"

"Sara calls him somethin' I can't pronounce - means 'warrior.' Snart just calls him Cat."

Kendra leaned forward and spoke to the cat in yet another language Mick didn't understand.

"Were you talkin' cat?" he asked, a bit suspiciously. "You said meow."

"Mao," Kendra corrected gently. "It's Egyptian for cat. I remember when cats were thought to be gods, and lived in temples. And people who hurt them could be put to death," she added, noting the cat's old injuries.

"I usta feed the ones that hung around the prison yard," Mick admitted. "I like the way they don't take any crap from anyone. If a cat don't like you, you find out real fast."

"Does Rip know about him?" Kendra asked, having gained the cat's approval to stroke his back.

"No," Snart drawled from the doorway where he was leaning. "And we'd like to keep it that way."

***


	2. Chapter 2

_**'The ruthless foe pressed forward, in stubborn rank on rank;**_

 _ **Growltiger to his vast surprise was forced to walk the plank.**_

 _ **He who a hundred victims had driven to that drop,**_

 _ **At the end of all his crimes was forced to go ker-flip, ker-flop.'**_

"There, now, what do you think of that, hmm?" Martin Stein said to the grey cat reclining in his lap. "Not that we'd ever let anyone make you walk the plank."

"Seriously, Gray?" Jax said from the doorway.

"I just thought Growltiger here would enjoy hearing his own story."

"Growltiger?" the young man exclaimed in equal parts disgust and disbelief.

"Yes. It's from a T.S. Eliot poem, about a cat who lived a rather adventurous life, and ended up missing and eye and an ear, much like this fellow."

"I've been calling him Mad Eye Moody - and yes, that's from a book!"

"And Sara calls him Maharib, and since she's the one who found him, I think her name is the one we ought to be using," Kendra suggested.

"We might want to consider getting him back to Sara's room, before Hunter finds out about our extra passenger," Snart said. "Come here, Cat."

The cat in question remained comfortably situated in Martin's lap and blinked his single eye at Snart.

"Guys, Ray's coming!" Jax hissed.

Kendra slipped out past him. "I'll distract Ray; one of you get the cat back to Sara's room."

Snart stepped forward to grab the cat - who most assuredly did not want to be grabbed. He hissed and dugs his claws into Martin's lap, narrowly missing a rather delicate part of his anatomy.

"Now would be a good time," the old man gritted out from clenched jaws.

Snart reached for Maharib again, and the cat launched himself off of Martin's lap and careened out the door, between Jax's feet. The team barely had the time to settle themselves into some semblance of casualness before Ray and Kendra entered the room.

"Hi, guys," Ray said cheerfully. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, Gray was just reading some poetry," Jax replied lamely.

Martin held up his book.

"Oh - achoo! T.S. Eliot. The Broadway show was as close as I could ever come to a cat," Ray confessed, sniveling.

"Such a shame," Snart said, with vast insincerity.

Sara was on her hands and knees rummaging through the storage bins under her bunk when Snart entered her room. "Have you seen Maharib?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm pretty sure the cat can take care of himself, Sara," Snart hedged.

"It's a spaceship," she fretted. "There's all sorts of things -"

"I would not allow any harm to befall your feline companion, Miss Lance," Gideon assured her.

"Wait - Gideon - do you know where he is?"

"Come on out, Buddy - I've got some cheese for ya!" Mick coaxed, crawling around the cargo bay.

Kendra roamed the corridors with a toy she'd made herself - ribbons, feathers, and beads, suspended from a wand - trying to entice the cat.

"Does he really understand Egyptian?" Ray wondered.

"Of course he does."

"Martin also thought he understood T.S. Eliot."

"When's the last time you sneezed?"

"Uh…ten minutes? Give or take."

"Come on then. Keep looking."

"I'm going to stay right here, Jefferson. Growltiger seemed quite content to sit in my lap, before Mr. Snart got him all riled up. I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"Whatever. I'm gonna go look for Mad Eye. Sara'll kill us all if anything happens to him."

"And I'm well aware that that is not a figure of speech, when it comes to Miss Lance."

"If anything happens to that cat, she'll make us wish that Snart got to us with his cold gun first."

"Yes, she will," Sara informed them. "And his name is Maharib."

Rip Hunter watched the images on the monitors in amusement. His team was gradually running out of places to search on the ship and converging on the bridge. While it had been entertaining to watch, it was also an educational experience. This rag-tag lot could still function as a team, even without his guidance. It was good to know.

"What do you think Graymalkin? Should we let them know you're safe?"

"Yes, Rip. We should," Snart drawled. "And his name is Maharib."

Hunter spun his chair around, so Snart could see the cat, sprawled in his lap. The ragged grey beast was casually washing one paw, while Hunter stroked his fur absently. At the sound of Snart finally using his correct name, he hopped down and ran to him, twining around his ankles.

"Did you people really think you could keep a secret from me, on my own ship?" Hunter asked, as the others drifted in.

Snart eyed the cat cautiously, then bent and picked him up. Sara smiled when she saw them, and walked over to scratch Maharib behind his ear.

"How long have you known?" she asked curiously.

"Since you first brought him aboard."

Sara studied him intently, trying to ascertain if Hunter was telling the truth, but the former Time Master had one hell of a poker face.

"Now, since Gideon has already demonstrated that she can keep our mascot out of places he doesn't belong, Mr. Palmer, would you please go to the medbay and take something to stop that infernal sniveling?"


End file.
